Lipitor Lawyer | Lipitor Lawsuit – d’Oliveira & Associates

Lipitor’s major side effect is Type 2 Diabetes. We are working with some of the more experienced Lipitor lawyers around the country, who can file a Lipitor lawsuit on your behalf and there is no fee until you get a settlement or award. Please contact us for a free (no obligation) case evaluation. Call toll free or contact us online.

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a blood pressure medicine that works by regulating an enzyme located in the liver which in turn lowers cholesterol. Lipitor has become popular because it can reduce substantial amounts of cholesterol at low doses. In December 1996, the FDA approved Lipitor for sale on the market by its manufacturer, Pfizer. According to The New York Times, 80 million people have cholesterol problems and almost 40 million of these people use statin drugs like Lipitor (i). For many years, Pfizer controlled this market with sales peaking at $13 billion in 2006, but the expiration of the drug’s patent in November 2011 has greatly reduced sales numbers (ii). The problems surrounding this drug continue to build as a growing number of Lipitor patients file type-2 diabetes lawsuits.

Lipitor Side Effects

Lipitor, as well as other statin cholesterol drugs, has been associated with a range of side effects. Less serious side effects of Lipitor include: dizziness, headache, muscle pain or muscle weakness, nausea, and diarrhea. Lipitor has also been known to cause serious side effects such as type-2 diabetes, kidney damage, and liver damage. If you have suffered type-2 diabetes or other serious side effects due to taking Lipitor you should contact a personal injury lawyer about your potential Lipitor lawsuit.

A recent article published in Reuters Health detailed a possible risk between statin cholesterol drugs and cataracts. The article outlined a study comparing 7,000 people on Lipitor and other statins and 7,000 comparable individuals with similar characteristics who were not taking these drugs, and results yielded a possible increased risk of cataracts (iii).

Lipitor and Type-2 Diabetes

In February 2012, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication about statin drugs like Lipitor after medical studies found that statin drugs can increase the risk of type-2 diabetes (iv). The FDA relied on 9 different medical studies that suggested drugs like Lipitor could inhibit the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels. One of these studies was published in the medical journal, The Lancet. It reviewed data from 13 statin trials of more than 90,000 people. The study found that certain cholesterol drugs were “associated with a 9% increased risk for incident diabetes (v).” Another study published in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine reviewed 76 statin trials of more than 170,000 people. The study found that “[w]hen we evaluated new incident diabetes… we found a significantly increased rate of diabetes (vi).”

Kidney and Liver Damage Caused By Lipitor

Medical studies have found that Lipitor and other cholesterol drugs may increase the risk of kidney and liver problems, and in some rare cases, cause damage. In March 2013, the British Medical Journal published a study which reviewed data from more than 2 million people over the course of more than 10 years. The researchers found that “[u]se of high potency statins [doses of at least 20 mg] is associated with an increased rate of diagnosis for acute kidney injury (vii).” Additionally, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology published a study which found that patients who took high doses of the drug had 4 times as many liver enzymes as patients who took lower doses. This is significant because higher enzyme levels are often a strong indicator of liver damage (viii).

Lipitor Lawsuits and Pfizer

Pending Lipitor lawsuits focus on the claim, supported by several different research studies, that link the use of this blood pressure medication with an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes. A 2011 study released by the American College of Cardiology established a connection between Lipitor and its associated diabetes risk, and an even more recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s January 2012 publication placed an emphasis on the risk in women (ix).

Lipitor has been the source of many lawsuits filed against Pfizer. For example, a former employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Pfizer alleging the company promoted the drug for off-label use. However, the lawsuit was dismissed after a judge determined that the company could market the medication to people who did not yet have high cholesterol (x). Additionally, Pfizer has had patent disputes with many companies who were manufacturing generic versions of the drug. Most recently, there have been a growing number of Lipitor lawsuits due to patients developing diabetes. The suits allege that Pfizer knew about the increased risk of diabetes posed by the drug, but failed to take reasonable steps to warn consumers.

SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE DISCONTINUING LIPITOR OR ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION.

Do You Need a Lipitor Lawyer?

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, or experienced any other serious side effect as a result of using this drug, then you may have a potential claim. A personal injury lawyer can give you important legal advice about your Lipitor case. d’Oliveira & Associates is working with experienced attorneys in this area who can file a claim on your behalf. Call us at 1-800-992-6878 or contact us online to learn more.